


Words That Haunt And Heal

by deandratb



Series: Novus Amor [3]
Category: The Doctor Blake Mysteries
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-15
Updated: 2017-11-15
Packaged: 2019-02-02 21:59:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12735141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deandratb/pseuds/deandratb
Summary: Friendly drinks, and the past that never really leaves us.Like him, she prefers honesty to cautious sympathy. She has never quite been someone others take to. It is what it is.





	Words That Haunt And Heal

**Author's Note:**

> This one's dedicated to my Ander, because when everyone treated me like I was speaking Latin, you came along and understood.

Since they both had a full day, with two autopsies for Alice and a nasty drunken domestic dispute for Matthew, it seems only right that when he visits Novis, she invites him to join her for after-dinner drinks.

They avoid the subject of work by unspoken agreement, which leads Matthew to do something he usually wouldn’t: ask Alice a personal question.

“So, is Novis your first dog?”

“That’s right,” she remembers, “you told me you had one as a boy. Yes, he’s my first.”

“No puppy as a child, then.”

“No. My parents had a cat,” she adds, thinking back. “Calico, the meanest creature. After a good scratch near my eye, I learned to keep well clear of her.”

“Ah. That’s a shame.”

“Not really. I’ve never gotten on well with cats. They’re so independent.”

“Right.” He can’t help thinking that Alice has always had a feline quality about her, making that a bit ironic.

“I would have liked one, I think,” she says, scratching Novis around his neck and smiling as his tail thumps the floor.

“Well, you do seem to be getting along,” Matthew agrees easily, sipping his whiskey.

Alice picks up her glass of sherry as Novis goes to join him.

“Yes. He’s good company.”

Something about the way she says it, staring at the dog, makes Matthew wonder.

“You could’ve used that, as a child.”

To ask would be rude, he thinks...but surely she won’t fault him for guessing.

Alice nods, keeping her eyes on Novis. “Dogs are very loyal creatures. I had few playmates.” Her matter-of-fact tone is sadder than tears would be.

He isn't sure what to say, or if he should say anything at all. She has been strange since the day they met, not to mention standoffish and puzzling at first.

A lot has changed since then--he considers her a friend, and admires her skills. She remains odd, but he finds it endearing now...Alice isn't like most people, and as he doesn't much enjoy people, that suits him fine.

His silence doesn't upset her. Like him, she prefers honesty to cautious sympathy. She has never quite been someone others take to. It is what it is.

And then Matthew surprises her, one hand on the only dog she's ever loved and the other setting down his whiskey. "People are idiots," he says brusquely.

It's what she hears between his words that warms her, and makes her grateful she's not someone prone to blushes. _I'm sorry it was like that for you. I would have been your friend. I like you very much._ All that is in his eyes as he pats Novis on the rump to send him back her way.

The dog hops up onto the couch, laying his head in her lap. Alice frowns. "We're still working on learning not to jump on the furniture."

"Ah, he'll get there." Can't blame him, though, Matthew thinks, smiling at them both.

"Would you like to come to dinner tomorrow?" She asks impulsively.

Never let it be said that Matthew Lawson lets opportunity pass him by. "Yes," he answers simply, before she can change her mind.

**Author's Note:**

> [get your very own drabbles–any subject, multiple requests okay!](http://actuallylorelaigilmore.tumblr.com/ask)


End file.
